Selfless Brendan deserves a Kiss

AN unlikely friendship between a rocker and a young Perth businessman is helping thousands of people in a poverty-stricken African country get better medical care.

Brendan Clark, 27, founded Health Hope Zambia, which operates mobile medical clinics, in September last year.

He met KISS frontman Gene Simmons earlier this year, when the rock star travelled to Zambia to meet some of his sponsor children, a trip which is featured in an episode of his reality-TV series Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

Mr Clark and his fiancee Rachael Longman have teamed up with Simmons to set up a program to serve free meals to an expected 100,000 people, as well as continuing to operate the clinics.

"On one of my recent trips I made a connection with Gene,'' Mr Clark said. ``By the end of it, I ended up spending a fair bit of time with him, and it's gone from there. He went out to see what we're doing; he knows the direct impact he's making by being involved in this.

"He's a very powerful person, he has lots of contacts and I think he's going to be a major benefit to our charity.''Simmons told The Sunday Times he wanted to give back and was trying to make a difference.

"I am blessed beyond anything a man could hope for,'' he said.

"And, while I go to sleep with a full belly every night, there are children around the world who have nothing, and go to sleep hungry. I refuse to let that happen.''

"It will give hope to families and children who can't afford health care and simply can't get to a hospital,'' he said.St John Ambulance WA is the most recent organisation to join forces with the charity and has donated an ambulance that will soon be shipped to Africa.

The ambulance, a Mercedes Sprinter, had been in service at the Jurien Bay Cervantes sub- centre and was nicknamed ``Holmes'' in dedication to long-term volunteers Clive Holmes and wife Gillian. Mr Clark said the charity had been running with just one ambulance, but the generous donation by St John would expand the level of care.

"To have a second ambulance, it will not allow us just to go to more people, it will probably increase our patient database over the next year by 5000 to 6000 people,'' he said.

Health Hope Zambia's team of medical staff travel up to 150km from the capital Lusaka each day, and have provided free medical care to more than 8000 patients in the past year.